[lorinda]

Redmarion guessed:

With expert play against total fish, you might expect break even in the long run. You are paying the house 9% vig on each game (this is huge).

This is utterly incorrect, I have played substantially over 1000 tourneys in this format and can tell you that 50% is a pretty reasonable figure.
9% vig isn't too bad, remember that in the ring you pay ~2.5% vig on EVERY pot that you win.
A good tourney in this format lasts 80 hands or so, none of which are raked after the initial outlay.
Also, remember that total fish just don't win these events that often, sure they get lucky from time to time, but the concepts needed to be a successful tourney player are far harder to grasp than those in the ring.
This, I clarify before the flames begin, is not to neccesarily say that ring game players are not as skillful, but a mediocre player can survive in an equivalent number of hands in the ring with same bankroll much longer than they can in these kinds of tournaments since they get something back for each pot they win.
In a tournament, the fish has to beat the expert out of an entire bankroll to win the tourney, and a much clearer heirarchy of players is established.